REVIEW – Super Hero Fight Club: Reloaded (Switch)

Originally released on mobile and Steam, Super Hero Fight Club: Reloaded has now been ported to Switch with four-player support. This single screen 2D action one-hit kill arena fighter is short on options but can provide simple entertainment in short bursts if you have other local humans in which to play.

Starting is a little awkward as there is no tutorial or description on what the game is, what it wants you to do, and how to win. It is only through experimental play-throughs will the player understand what exactly is happening. As it turns out, the player selects from over a dozen unique characters and competes in a fight to be the last man standing. To be clear, this is not a standard fighting game. Instead, players fly around an arena trying to kill each other with sword pokes, arrow shots, and even trying to whack opponents with giant computer mice. It is a little ridiculous and if you ever played Rocket Riot you’ll have somewhat of an idea of what to expect.

The “A” button causes the player to fly around the stage in conjunction with the analog stick. Then, the other face buttons will boost and dash. After getting over the initial learning curve, this arena brawler is easy to play but difficult to master thanks to the loose flying/rotating controls; it takes some getting used to. One of the biggest features is the wide roster of characters available. Even though they are obvious rip-offs and nods to other IPs, like Ratman being a knock on Batman or a space marine that looks like the Master Chief complete with energy sword, each one plays differently and encourages experimentation. This, in combination of the pixel graphics, give this game its humorous and not-taken-seriously personality.

The meat of the game is all about bashing an opponent in the arena but there are limited gameplay types to do so. While there are single player options, like climbing a ladder of opponents one by one just like a Mortal Kombat game, or many individual objective based missions to complete, the most entertaining part is playing competitively with 3 local friends. Although the standard death match is fun as there are well over a dozen playable characters, there isn’t much staying power without any type of RPG elements or unlockables. It is fine for a few matches but players will want to move back to Smash Bros. after 15 minutes.

Super Hero Fight Club: Reloaded is best played as a quick, mindless distraction. The visual style and quirky character roster provides charm but ultimately falls a little short on gameplay. It is also unfortunate that the techno soundtrack gets annoying after just a couple matches and even loops poorly, and elements of the background look like they are interactive foreground pieces, but playing with a few friends isn’t so bad if players have lower expectations and are willing to plunk down $10 for this Switch eShop download.